Vault-door-unlocking device



Sept. 7 1926.

R. L. SHEETZ VAULT DOOR UNLOCKING DEVICE tf /zg llllIlllllllIl/ll/llllPatented Sept. 7, 1926.

i f 1,599,294.-g

. ROBERT I..- sHnETz,A 0F sron'x CITY, town.

vAULr-Doon-UNLoeKI-NG nnvron.

pplicaton filed iig'ust' 28; 1.525. Serial Nb. 55;,147;

invention relates to a vitali dooriinlocking' device such asillustratedin my Patent No. 1,547,452, issued .hay 28,1925, 'and has forits object to provide such an' unlocling device embodying' improvedfeatures' of construction enhancing" the safety ofA the device, andminimizing' the possibility of the device beiii', rendered inoperativeby bandits. v l

More particularly, it is ni'y object to piovide such an un oc ing devicein which Ineans controlled from the inside of the vault i door are'previiet with which means a. per'- so loclre'd on the inside of a vaultmay discnect the pressure bar. had wheelA from iii-e pressure', bei'11i-andenes' Start to pievi-.iii the said shaft being. locked againstvrotation byV -thesecu'ringof the hand wheel to the vault' door, of' theotherwise lockingv of the hand wheel against rotation. f

lA further object l of the invention is to hide that portion oftheunloclring mechanism which is accessible from the inner side ofthevault dolor'bya simple device fashioned t'oL resemble one of the commonappendages ordinarily present on the inner side of the vault door, suchais ak bolt head. or the like. f v

A ifurther object is to provide an unlocking device having Jthe abovefeatures,y which is of simple, durablev and inexpensive c'ofnstruction.

l/Vith these and other objects' in view, my

vinventifni consistsV in theconstruction, ar-

rangement and combination of the various parts-,of my device, wherebythe objects contemplated are attained, asV hereinafter more fnlly setforth, pointed out Vin my-claims and illustrated in the accompanying`drawings,

` in which Fig. 1 is an elevation of a portion of the front side of avault door, illustrating aportion of theV pressure bar system tol whichymy invention is applied.

F ig.v 2v is a horizontal sectional. view illus; trating the lunlocking`mechanism and handA wheel release, taken on the line 2;-2 of Figli. g iiig. 3 is an end view of the hand wheel hub. A, l Y. A Fig'. 4 isan endview of the hand Wheel shaft. v j

ef ai@ doei.

Fig. 5 is a view illustrating the unlocking wrench.- L Fig.'v 6 isavi-ew' illustrating the release wrench, the socket thereof being shownin section.

:through a different `form of the central pressure bar gear boxillustrating a modification of the unlocking and release mechanismadapted'V to that type of pressure vbar mechan-ism. Y i 5 Fig. 8is ahorizontal" sectional View) of the saine, taken on they line 8 8' of7.-; y

F 9 is a detailL view of a modified foi-in of the concealing device.

In view of the increased number `of vda-ylight robberies at the presenttime, the need for an leffective. ,and safemeansfor allowing the escapeof persons loclvred within a vault more argent than formerly.A11-objection to the simple type of unlocking means'lwherein the end ofthe pressure bar hand wheel sh'aftfis made accessible to a wrench or thelike from sie inside of ai@ door lies iii the PATENT oFgFicE.

Fig. 7 is a ,Sect'iIialv view taken vertically -liavin'g a pressure barsystem, has become v possibility of the bandit'y boring tliroughthe fweb ofthe hand wheellvand tapping lal bolt niiiiiigii the @peiling ausaimed im@ ,nie vault door; or' tying accable around; the spokes of ,thehand wheel, `and securing. it to a projecting portion .of tliedoor, vsoas Vto 'I in either case. locl ,the hand' wheelvk shaft againstrotation, and thnsprevent the actuation,ofthennloclnng means from theinside The" pr'e'sent invention contemplates i prifmarily to` providemeansffor releasing the fiand wheel from its` drivingi connectionwiththe shaft iso that even tlvife-ugghl the hand wheel may be'locredagainst rotation,l theV shaft mayl stillv be rotated and the pressurebar mechanism thus actuated.

In Figs. l 'and 2 :[liavev shown a portion of thecommon type ofvpret-isure bar mechanis'm, in wl'ricl'ith'e vault door' indicated 10,tlieaeentral gear boX at 1l,` the verticalconnecting shaft vat 12, andone of the horizontaln pressure 4barsatj 13. The pressure ba-r, 13,- isgeared in the ordinary manner by means of a bevel-gear, 14?, meshingwith a bevel geanl, on the connectingfshaft, 12,-

. within agear' casingv,.16. f

In practically every form of pressure bar system, the combination box,11, has a rearV necting shaft, 12. A hand wheel, 25, is or-V dinarilykeyed to the shaft, 22, by means of `a key (not shown 1n the drawings)received in registering slots in the hub, 26, of the hand wheel and inthe shaft, 22, respectively.

The outer end of the shaft, 22, may be pro v vide-d with athreaded stud,27, to receive a cap nut, 28, or maybe tapped out to receive a capscrew, as the case may be, to cover the end of the shaft and retain thehand wheel against longitudinal movement on the shaft. f YIt will beunderstood that the parts heretofore described are of the ordinarypressure bar mechanism.

In the practice of my invention, the shaft, 22, is temporarily removedand its inner end .provided Vwith a transverse slot, 29, shown inFigs. 2and 4. An opening, 30, is extend- 'ed through the door, 10, coaxial withthe shaft, 22, in order that the wrench, 31, may be inserted through thedoor, and its flattened end, 32, received in the transverse slot,

29, of the shaft, 22. It will now Ybe seen that should a banker belocked within a vault having a pressure bar system, and the pressure barmechanism actuated so as to lock the door from the outside, that bysimply inserting the wrench, 31, through the opening, 30, the shaft, 22,may be rotated from the inside of the door.

I provide means for concealing the opening, 30, so as to render itunnoticeable from the inside of the door, which is as follows: A centralopening, 32a, is drilled at the end of the shaft, 22, and tapped duringa portion of its length to receive the threaded end of a dummy bolt, 33.The head, 34, of the the bolt, 33, isformed by the machinist, whocontours the device so as to be as nearly identical with the heads` ofthe other bolts appearing on the inside of the door, and the outerextremity Vof the opening, 30, is countersunk, as at 35, to simulate theordinary countersinking of the boltheads within the vault door. Y

Should the head, 34, not be sufciently large to completely cover theopening, 30, the size of which is determined by the necessary breadth ofthe wrench, 31, a washer, 36, may be secured to the under side of thehead, of such size that it will fit snugly within the countersunkopening, 35, yand of n `leasing the hand wheel, 25, from engagement withthe shaft, 22, and each will preferably include the following elements:

1. A dog or key, or equivalent device, for forming a connection betweenthe hand wheel,'25, and the shaft,- 22, and which is capable of movementto a position `where it no longer engages both at the same time.

2. An instrument having an operative connection with the dog or key andextending through the gear box or into the gear box to a position whereit is accessiblefrom the inside of the vault door.

The latter device may be external of the shaft, 22, although I find thatin practice it is ordinarily preferable to ournal it in the shaft, as inthe form of my invention shown in the drawings, which I will nowdescribe.

The shaft, 22, is drilled from its inner end with a central opening, 37,extending Vinto that portion of the Vshaft ordinarily encompassed by thehub, 26." (See Figs. 2 and 4.)V A transverse slotted opening, 33, isthen cut through the center of the shaft, and joins the opening, 37. Thehub, 26, is reamed out as 'at 39 for a portion of its length, and a pairof diametrically ropposed vkeyways, 40, are cut in that portion of thehub ad] acent the reamed opening, 39, to a depth corresponding to thedepth of the same.

A key, 41, is extended through the opening,38, and is of such lengththat its end will be snugly received within the reamed opening, 39, orwithin the keywfays, 40, according to its position longitudinally of theshaft, 22. VVhenits ends are received in the keyways, 40, it will beseen that the key, 41, serves to connect the hand wheel, 25, with theshaft, 22, and when it is moved to position where its ends are receivedin the reamed opening, 39, the hand wheel, 25, will be freely rotatablearound the shaft, or the shaft may be freely rotated within the handwheel.

A release rod, 42, is extendedthrough the opening, 37, and threaded atits outer end into the key, 41, as shown in Fig. 2. r1`he rod, 42, is ofsuch length that its other end extends partially into the opening, 32.This end is threaded as shown and a wrench, 43, is provided having athreaded socket, 44,

adapted to extend within the opening, 32,

and receive the threaded end of the rod, 42. The dummy bolt,v33, servesto retain the release mechanism its' operativeposi'tion vwherein thekey, 41,'. engages' bth the hand wheel, 25, and the shaft, 22. Y

Should banker Vupon' being locked with'- in his vault find that 'theburglar has not only locked the pressure bars, b'ut has locked the handwheel as vwell, he can then remove Vthe dum-my bolt, 33, insert thewrench', 43,

- ofthe shaft, 22.

The details of construction of theV various devices involved in myinvention will vary according to the" type of pressure' ba'r sys'- teinto which they are attached. For instance, in Fig. 7, there is shown avportion of a pressure bar mechanism in which the vertical connectingshaft, 12a, is provided withA a bevel gear, 45, re''is'tering with yabevel gear, 46, on' the end of the hand wheel shaft, 47, which, in this'case, extend-s only through the cover, 20a, of the gear box, 11a. Theshaft,- 12, being in the same vertical plane with th'e' shaft, 47, itwould be difficult to provide a wrench which could be extended aroundthe shaft, 12a, and a gear, 48, is therefore provided, having the hubjournaledin the rear wall of the gear box, said gear `meshing with'thegear, 45, and provided with slots, 49.

The dummy bolt, 33a, is threaded into the hub of the gear, as shown,anda rod, 50, having an offset portion, v51, to encircle the verticalshaft, 12a, partly serves the function of the rod, 42. A second rod, 52,is extended through the shaft, 47, and has on its end a key, 41,extending through the slot, 38a,V

in the shaft, 47, in the samemanner as the construction described inFig. 1.

The inner end of the rod, 52, has a disk '.head, 53, the peripheryl ofwhich is received by the bifurcated end, 54, of the rod, 50. rlhus therod, 52, is allowed to turn while the rod, 50, whichcan not turn byreason of the presence of the shaft, 12a, is allowed to remainstationary. At the same time, when the rod, 50, is pulled outwardly, therod, 52, will be drawn with it. The rod, 50, is provided with a threadedend to receive the wrench, 43, in the same manner as described in Fig.2.

There a hand wheel having a squared hub f opening, to lfit a squaredshaft, is used, the opening may be bushed and the shaft turned down on alathe, in order to obtain a rotatable connection between the two.

1. In combination with a` vault door having af presure bar actuatingshaft, and a hand wheelzhavin'g a hub received over the outer end ofthesaid shaft; a'n element conA tained within the hub and adapted tobemoved from position where it forms a driving link between the' hub andthe shaft, to

a' position vwhere it will allow `free rotation v ofthe hand wheel andshaft relative to each other, and means' enclosed within the shaft fn*moving saidv element'from one to the other of said' positions, saidmeans' beingacessibl'e from within thev vault door.

2. In combination with a vault vdoor hav-A ing' a pressure bar' gear boxsecured to the outer faceV thereof, a' pressure bar hand wheel shafte'xtei'iding throu vh said gear box and a hand 'wheel having aiubreceived on the outer end of said hand wheel shaft; an element containedwithin said hub adapted to be moved from position where it forms adriving' link between said huby and the shaft, to Aprsition where itwill allow free rotation of the hand wheel and shaft relative to eachother, a free passageway being provided ythrough the gear box and doorto allow access to said element.

3. In combination with a vault door having a pressure bar gear boxsecured thereto, on its outer side a pressure bar hand wheel shaftjournaled in said gear box, and a hand wheel received on the outer endof said shaft, means lfor connecting and disconnecting said hand wheelin driving engagement. with and from said shaft, said means beingoperable 'from the inner side of the vault door. n

4. In combination with a vault door having a pressure bar gearboxsecured thereto, a pressure bar hand wheel shaft journaled insa-id gearbox, and a hand wheel received on the outer end of said shaft,v

means for connecting and disconnecting said hand wheel in drivingengagement withl and from said shaft, a passageway being providedthrough the gear box and door to allow access to said means, and anelement having an outer configuration similar to other appendagescontained on the inner face of the door, received in and concealing theinner extremity of said passageway.

-5. In combination with a vault door having a pressure bar gear boxsecured to the A outer face thereof, a hand wheel shaft jourhand wheelshaft terminating short of the inner surface of the door and beingprovided with a transverse slot, the door being provided with an openingregistering with the vinner end of said shaft; an element having on itsinner end a configuration similar to that of other appendages carried bythe inner face of the door, said element serving to close and concealthe inner extremity of said opening.

6. In combination with a vault door having a pressure bar gear boxsecured thereto, on its outer side a pressure bar hand wheel shaftjournaled in said gear box, a gear on said shaft within the box, and ahand wheel receivedon the outer end of said shaft, ineans for connectingand disconnecting said hand wheel in driving relation with and froinsaid gear, a passageway being provided through the door and into thegear box to allow access to said ineans for actuating the saine from theinner side of the door. n

7.` In combination with a vault door having a gearbox secured thereto onits outer side, a pressure bar hand wheel shaft journalled in said gearbox, a hand wheel received on the outer end of said shaft, and a gear onsaid shaft Within the box; an eleinent contained within the shaft forconneet-ing and disconnecting` said hand wheel in driving relation withand from said shaft,

a passageway being provided through the door toV allow access to saidelement.

8. In combination with a vault door having a gear box secured thereto onits outer side, a pressure bar hand Wheel shaft journalled in said gearbox, a hand wheel received on' the outer end of said shaft, and a gearon said shaft within the box; an element longitudinally slidable withinsaid shaft, for connecting and disconnecting said hand wheel in drivingrelation with and from said gear, a passageway being provided throughthe door to allow access to said element for actuating it. Y

9. In coinbination'with a vault door having a-pressure bar gear boxsecured to the outer face thereof, a hand wheel shaft jour- -alled insaid gear box, the inner end of said hand wheel shaft terminating shortof the inner surface of the door, the door being provided with anopening registering with the inner end of-sa-id shaft; an element havingon its inner end a conguration siniilar to that of other appendagescarried by the inner face of the door, said eleinent serving to closeand conceal the inner extreniitj,v of'said opening.

Signed at Sioux City, in the county of TWoodbury, and vState of Iowa,this 24th day of August, 1925.

ROBERT L. SHEETZ.

